Keystone cuts rates by up to 0.65% and removes higher arrangement fees

Keystone Property Finance has cut rates across its product ranges and is now offering standard fixed rate products from 4.14%.

The largest reductions come in the lender’s expat range, which have been cut by up to 0.65%, with rates now starting at 5.49%.

Keystone has also reduced rates on its standard and specialist products offered on HMOs and MUFBs up to 15 occupants/units by up to 0.55%.

As well as lowering its rates, Keystone has removed the 5.5% and 7% arrangement fee products on its five-year fixed rates. These deals were introduced to allow landlords to achieve higher levels of affordability when mortgage rates were high, but with the recent rate reductions seen in the market Keystone says these are currently not needed.

The lender has introduced a 3% arrangement fee offering to its product transfer range, with rates starting at 4.89%, providing greater flexibility of product choice for those coming to the end of their fixed term.

Elise Coole, managing director at Keystone Property Finance, said: “It’s great to be able to kick the New Year off with a series of significant rate reductions and to offer products starting from 4.14%.

“In the past month Swap rates have come down significantly, which has allowed us to make sizeable reductions across our range. Nobody can know for how market conditions will evolve in the coming year, but we’ll continue to pass on any rate reductions as a result of our funding structures as soon as we are able to do so.

“We have also decided to remove our 5.5% and 7% arrangement fee tiers. For a while last year, these products were a useful tool in brokers’ armoury because they allowed landlords to achieve higher levels of leverage in a higher mortgage rate environment. But now that mortgage rates have fallen significantly over the past few months, they have served their purpose and I feel that currently they are no longer a vital part of our offering.”